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I have been going through different symptoms for a while now and they are just getting worse.fright.

Posted , 7 users are following.

Marydoll68
Marydoll68

I'm currently waiting on appointment for rheumatology. I'm told it's 18 months. Is this accurate

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • pami82
    pami82 Marydoll68

    Posted

    Wow! It only took me about 4 weeks to get my first appt. With a Rheumy. I never could have lasted that long. I guess it depends on where you live.
  • sukes
    sukes Marydoll68

    Posted

    Hi Marydoll,

    I have no idea if 18 months waiting for an appointment with a Rheumatologist is right or not, I suppose it depends on where you live, however it does seem to be a bit excessive to me.

    I was referred by my GP and was seen within 4 weeks.  I live in Devon.  Hopefully others on here may be able to offer some advice. 

    • Marydoll68
      Marydoll68 sukes

      Posted

      Thanks for your comment. I live in Belfast. Seems like getting a proper diagnoses is nervy impossible here.
  • EileenH
    EileenH Marydoll68

    Posted

    I was going to ask where you lived - I know it is next to impossible to get a rheumy appointment in NI. No doubt rheumatology is considered non-emergency referral - and when there aren't any rheumies, they can't run clinics.

  • carol303055
    carol303055 Marydoll68

    Posted

    Hello!

    Where do you live?

    ?Here in England there are guidelines for how long you should expect to wait. The NICE guidelines rheumatoid arthritis (Google)  will give you a lot of information. "Given the potentially devastating effects of delayed diagnosis in terms of joint damage and quality of life, people with these symptoms & signs need to be assessed quickly. It refers to within 3 weeks of referral? This may not be realistic given the current NHS pressures but 18 months could see someone with potential long term damage. If you are in the UK and your local service is unable to offer an earlier appointment could you be referred to a different area? I don't know. Good luck. Please let us know how you get on. And do look at those guidelines.

    Regards, Carol

    • EileenH
      EileenH carol303055

      Posted

      The recommended waiting times actually only apply to England. So do the other rights of being able to go to your choice of hospital and consultant. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are all different. The NHS is NOT a national service. There are good and bad bits about that but that is the way it is - it really is a postcode lottery.
    • carol303055
      carol303055 EileenH

      Posted

      Hi Eileen, that's why I asked where she lived and if she has some information regarding the guidelines at least she has something to argue with. I agree with Treezsh to shout about it (but very frustrating if you've kept hitting brick walls.) Maybe now is a good time with an election looming! Good luck Mary x

  • treezsh
    treezsh Marydoll68

    Posted

    I am shocked and horrified. As a physiotherapist with R A it is truly unacceptable to wait so long, the damage to your joints without the correct treatnrnt couldnt be devastating. Write to your MP, shout, make a noise on social media. Write to PALS the patient advisory service, but dont accept that. You GP must know how you couldnt possibly wait that long before treatment with R A diagnosis. Good luck and keep making a noise or get someone else to complain on your behalf Mary.
    • EileenH
      EileenH treezsh

      Posted

      You're right, it is. But what can they do when they haven't got any doctors? 

      And a friend in Wales has recently had a similar experience. She had been under a superb rheumy at her local hospital who had things pretty much under control but he got a job at the Heath in Cardiff so she requested she be allowed to go with him as a patient, he was perfectly happy about that. but said he would be able to do no more than that. She requested it, and was turned down - a GP with a special interest in dermatology locally was deemed adequate care for her lupus. She wrote to and was awarded an audience with her MP's staff. It got her precisely nowhere. They sided with the commisioning group.  She was devastated, the whole performance with lupus had made her ill.

      She paid privately to go to the Lupus Centre of Excellence in London - her original diagnosis was not entirely correct and the treatment she was on was inadequate. She will pay to see them, she can afford it but how many can?

      In England you can choose your hospital for the first referral - so you can choose anywhere in England, if you are prepared to travel you can and look for the shortest waiting times. Not anywhere else. 

      And in the next 5 years it will be worse.

    • Marydoll68
      Marydoll68 treezsh

      Posted

      I thought you had to just wait. I've been freezing out as I have read a bit about RA. But we put our trust in doctors and asume they're doing right by us.

      Thank you for your comments

      They've give me bit of hope

  • tony35673
    tony35673 Marydoll68

    Posted

    18 month wait is extraordinary.   In Australia a 3 month wait is not uncommon, but I've never had to wait anything over that time.   I did have to wait almost three months to see the Rheumatologist I see, but that was because of his reputation  I guess it depends on the specialist and your location.   I can generally get in to see most specialists with a week or two.   GPs generally email the referral now, the information imparted in that referral will have an effect on the waiting time.

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